Count Dracula's Sweetheart
by GillianDrake
Summary: Count Vladimir Dracula is in his hundredth year when he finally meets his soul mate in a Gypsy Witch-girl, but can he love her and keep her?...
1. Gypsy

/It kind of occurred to me that nobody has (to my knowledge) written anything for the Count so, here it is…/

The year was 1522, the year of Count Dracula's hundredth birthday. A troupe of Gypsies had settled near Bistritz. They were a group of peasants that nobody cared about and nobody wanted around…the perfect prey for a vampire.

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The clapping of hands and the jingle of bells and bangles echoed through the air. A blazing, red fire curled mightily into the night sky. Old men from the small nearby town sat, leering at the small, winding bodies of the gypsy dancers as they lifted their patched, woollen skirts to show their small, stamping feet.

An ancient woman with gnarled fingers read palms for a coin or two. Old Anna, she was called. Her hair was frizzy grey mass around her head. Her eyes met mine for a split second, and then passed onto the next fool. I wasn't really looking at her…I was staring at the girl kneeling next to her. Her skin carried a golden glow from the fire and streaks of ruby and amber were filtered through her hair. Her eyes were focused on the old witch's hands as they traced paths along grimy, dirty skin. She wasn't exactly small…no, definitely not small…but most definitely healthy. Something that I could hold onto…sink into…

I sat, hooded and cloaked on the ground next to a peasant whose lusty blood pounded loudly in my ears… Mephistopheles' teeth! I was hungry! I turned my gaze onto one of the winding silhouettes dancing around the fire.

An hour later, I found myself leading one of the delicate little droplets into the woods. I heard her giggle coquettishly behind me. "I promise you it isn't much further" I whispered, referring to a small lagoon where I planned to ravish her and then spill her blood into the water…

"You never did tell me your name, Sir" she giggled…that giggle would have begun to grate if I hadn't been looking forward to killing her. "It's a secret" I whispered seductively. "Really?" she asked, humouring her one-night lover…

A twig snapped. Leaves rustled.

"Vlad!"

Ivan! Was there to be no peace!? "Brother, if you don't mind, I'd rather have this one girl to myself." I muttered, as my blond haired demi-god of a brother appeared at the edge of the glassy, black waters of the lagoon. At only twenty years old, my brother was irritatingly inexperienced…but it was my duty to tutor him (according to Nanny Klontarve; the stubborn, tough old matriarch of the house of Dracula.)

"But Brother" he whined, "I won't get any if you keep them all to yourself!" So we shared our meal. The girl didn't exactly put up a fight…more, whimpered in protest and let her eyes roll and her head loll back. I threw her into the lake and just let her drift across the moonlit waters…I never did catch her name.

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Panic! Mara was dead! She was found, drifting on the water, drained of blood. Old Anna performed the ceremony that would send her into God's hands. I just stood, staring as her body crumbled to ash in the funeral pyre.

I had seen her being led like a lamb on a string into the forest by a strange man, hooded and cloaked. I should have stopped her! It was all my fault.

"Kati! Katarina! Make yourself useful and get this old woman a drink!" Anna croaked. The sun was high in the sky, beating down upon all of us. I hurried to the water's edge with a water skin and put it under the glistening ripples of liquid.

I rushed back to Anna's side and handed her the skin. "Here Anna." I led her knotted hands to the skin as her milky eyes were blind. "You are a good girl, Kati" she mumbled just as she put the skin to her lips and let the water slosh down her throat and gurgle down to her stomach.

I was always just the good girl. The clever girl. Never the pretty girl. I almost yearned to have the horrid old yokes from the village gazing at me with lust. I wanted someone to gaze at me with that look of longing that Mara had always had. She had been a fair skinned, dark haired, voluptuous girl with juicy, plump red lips that had more than their fair share of kisses.

The only kisses that I had ever received had been on the forehead or the cheek from Old Anna and the other wise women.

I pondered over that later that night. The fire was in full bloom curling and unfurling. The stars twinkled and winked to each other. "You will have many sons" Old Anna croaked to a rangy, lanky boy crouched in front of her. The boy smiled, paid her her due, and then loped off to the other side of the fire.

I saw the strange man again. Leading Sarika off into the woods. I had to stop it!

"Anna, may I seek my bed, I am tired." I mumbled into her ear.

"Of course child! Go"

I leapt to my feet and slithered off into the darkness. I darted around the fire and ran into the forest. "Sarika! Sarika!" I yelled, "Sarika!" I shrieked.

"Kati!" Someone moaned from behind me. I whirled around. "Help me" she whispered. Her face was white and drawn, her vibrant blue eyes sunken with fright. Staring into the shadows over my shoulder. I looked around hesitantly.

I was nose to nose with Mara's killer. His nose was hooked, his eyes were blue as the sky in the morning. Thick, black hair framed his face. He was so pale. Oh God! So pale. "So Kati, tell me why I shouldn't kill you as well as…what was your name again?" His voice was enchanting! Why did it have to belong to a killer? I had to be strong.

"I give you my life in place of hers" I whispered. My voice cracked. I couldn't let anyone else die. "I'll do anything you want, I'll be your slave! So long as you don't harm anyone else in our troupe."

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Oh! That was a tempting offer. My hands itched to touch her face and see if her skin was really as creamy smooth as it looked. I longed to clasp her body to mine, just to see her response. "Fine." I murmured, staring into her bewildered face, "but how do I know that Sarika won't mention anything of this little pact that we have? What do you suggest?" I hissed in the shell of her ear. She quivered. I ran a finger over the arched flute of her collar bone. Her warm breath left her in a rush. "Erm…"

"Come now! We don't have all night!" I snarled, bearing down upon her.

"You're a vampire, yes?" I nodded, still interested in her offer. "I've heard that you have powers to bewitch the mind…Ensnare the senses."

My senses were piqued with excitement. She smelled so good; not the typical flowers or spice. She smelled more like fresh, dewy grass, flame and salt. Her skin glowed a faint blue in the moonlight. Her wary, golden-brown eyes never left me; waited for my next move…

"Oh, believe me I'll ensnare your senses…but what exactly do you want me to do?" I asked huskily. I could feel her heartbeat pounding in my ears. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. "I want you to make her forget!" she said finally. It was hardly a bad plan, tactically. But the idea held little appeal for me… She had begun to sweat. A droplet ran down the cream of her neck. I bent my head to the hollow of her neck and licked away the drop of perspiration. She shivered. My hands went to her shoulders. A small whimper broke from her lips…

"Yes." I whispered. "Yes, I'll make her forget. You're mine." I growled.

"Yes." She said, "I'm yours. I've made a deal with the Devil. I won't back out."

I stalked past her to the quivering heap of cloth behind her. I grasped Sarika by the throat. My eyes bored into hers. "You won't remember anything of our encounter. You will forget everything that has just been said and done." The girl stared, unblinking into my eyes. She nodded. I snapped my fingers. Her eyes closed and I let her fall to the ground.

"It is done." I said with a smile as I whirled around, "now come here." I motioned to the girl that stood proudly before me. She came forward a step. "Closer." She edged forward another step. "Closer!" I hissed. She was not an inch from me when I had finished. "What is your name?" I demanded, letting my hand curl about her waist possessively. "Katarina" She choked.

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"We must seal our bargain you and I, Kitten." I whispered, letting all sorts of nefarious happenings streak through my mind. "How?" she whispered, her breath a scalding rush against my skin. "I want you to kiss me." She looked away. I hooked my hand under her chin and forced her gaze to meet mine. "Even if you think you cannot do this, I will have you and all your conditions will be naught. You will come to me willingly or your entire caravan will be bled dry." She pressed her lips to mine in that instant. It was an innocent, chaste caress. Like the kiss a young girl would give an uncle or a brother. She stood back and looked at me hopefully. I ran my tongue over my lips, savouring the warmth that still lingered…I shook my head.

"No, that won't do at all!" I whispered, "You must do it like this." I seized her mouth with my own. Her hands grasped my shoulders. I traced her lips with my tongue, demanding to be let inside, and then it began…

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It was the morning after. Dawn hadn't yet broken into the sky. I lay on my back, remembering every touch that he had dealt me. Tender. Soft. Yet demanding, so full of anger and malignancy. It wasn't as if he actually wanted me, I told myself. He just wanted to use me, to have power over me and God forgive me! I gave him that, encouraged him even-

I stopped that thought as a dazed Sarika stumbled tiredly out of the forest and around the dying fire. She fell in a heap, curled up into a ball and fell back to sleep.

A slip of something was pinned to her breast. I hastily got up and tiptoed around to where she lay. I bent over her and retrieved it…there was some squiggles and swishes and a few straight lines that looked like –meet me tonight by the lagoon- but I couldn't make out what they were meant to mean. He had sent me a note when I couldn't read! We were doomed!

I dwelled on what he had said that night "You will come to me willingly or your entire caravan will be bled dry" Oh God! Anna! Sarika! All the others…

"Pay attention, Katarina!" Anna said sternly, "Just because you are unfortunate in looks, doesn't mean you won't be useful in some other way!" A flare of indignation smouldered in my gut along with a spark of pride. I had been kissed at the very least, I thought. I couldn't be all that ugly…but then again… "I'm sorry, Anna. My mind has been occupied of late, what with Mara…" I didn't have to continue. Anna's look softened; the angry pucker between her brows smoothed a little. "Yes, Mara's death has been on my mind too. But life moves on and so must we! Now. Mater?"

"Mother."

"Pater?"

"Father."

"Cave Canem!" she cried with a laugh.

"Beware of the dog." My voice was a brittle monotone as I bit out the words. Anna merely sighed, my temper had not improved.

I waited that night just on the edge of the forest, just out of sight of the people around the fire. I didn't know what to do! I fumbled with the note in my hands, I wondered what- meet me tonight by the lagoon -was meant to mean.

A hand clawed at my shoulder and a face burst out of the shadows. "I see that you received my note." He snarled as he dragged me into the shadows of the black forest. "Why did you not do as I told you? Have you reconsidered already? Cowardly girl!" he spat. He gripped my left arm and squeezed tightly. "I can't read!" I gasped, "Get off me! I didn't know! I can't read!" He seethed with irritation but he abruptly let go and let my arm fall. I grasped at the painful ache where his grip had been so powerful. "Well that's not exactly helpful" he muttered dryly. A stray thought passed through my head… "Well…neither is not knowing your name!" I retorted. At this he smiled a little and pulled me into a clearing.

He let go of my hand and grandly whirled around and made a mockingly extravagant bow. "I am Count Vladimir Dracula; the prince of darkness and lord over these lands." He came towards me and stopped just short of touching me. I was physically incapable of tearing my gaze away from his. I had heard of him and his exploits. Vlad Draco, Vlad Tepesh. He had gone by many names, all of them monstrous. "I see you've heard of me." He said, "But I don't know anything about you, save that your name is Katarina and you are a gypsy girl. Sit" he commanded. I sat on the ground, the grass a dark greeny-blue in the moonlight. He did likewise. "Tell me about yourself." He said quietly.

"My name is Katarina. My mother's name was Jucika and my father was Daniel. I was the eldest of three but my family were killed-I don't know how or why- That was when this band of gypsies found me and Anna took me into her care. I am being taught by her and the other wise women in the ways of God," at this he snorted, "and magic. That's all there is…" His brows puckered in doubt and confusion. That was all there was. There was nothing else. I was hardly interesting anyway. "There is nothing more?" He asked, "What do you like? What do you dislike? What are your hopes and fears and dreams?"

"And why exactly do you want to know? You just want to use me and kill me or-"

"You said you'd co-operate" He said warningly. I bit my tongue. Yes, I had said that. I couldn't back out.

He reached for me. I held perfectly still. "Come and sit in my lap." I gave up and crawled over to where he sat, cross-legged on the ground. Growing impatient, he dragged me into his arms, my back flush against his chest. He placed his chin in the crook of my shoulder as his arms wrapped around me. "Count, I want to know exactly what you want of me and what you plan to do with me-"

"All in good time Kitten, I promise. But for now; as we are to be intimately acquainted, I would have you call me Vlad." He murmured in the delicate shell of cartilage that was my ear.

"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't call me Kitten." I blurted out, "I am a woman full grown, not a pet or a child."

"Ah, but you are my pet," Oh, did I know it! "And you are young to be defending your people in this way…very young. You are very much a little Cat that thinks it is a Lion." He teased with a light smile.

"I have no such delusions of grandeur," I said with a sniff, "But unfortunately for me, Kittens are sweet and adorable and sometimes beautiful to behold. I am not such a creature I'm afraid." I smiled wistfully, idly wondering why I was speaking to Mara's killer this way; as if he was my friend…

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"I'll agree that you're quite sour with me, and you're too headstrong to be adorable but you are beautiful" I whispered, meaning it with every fibre of my being. She laughed mirthlessly. "You enjoy playing games with me don't you? I almost wish you'd kill me and get it over and done with."

"But where would the enjoyment be in that?" I asked in a hard, steely voice, "And why exactly do you say that? It can't be as if no-one has told you that you are beautiful before-"

"No, they haven't!" she snapped, "they just laugh and say how unfortunate I am to be so ugly and fat or they sigh and pity me my looks. I just thank God that I'm not an idiot and can tell the difference between truth and lies! So, I beg you, spare me the humiliation of lying to me about what I am-" I refused to let her say anymore, if she couldn't see herself for what she really was then I would show her. I would force her to see reason. I kissed her. It was thorough and deep. She moaned into my mouth. She tasted so sweet. I paused to let her catch her breath. "Oh why does it have to be you?" she murmured hotly, "I really shouldn't let you do this."

"I could destroy you're entire group…so you really should do what you feel to be the best thing…I don't care one way or the other about "should" I care more about "want" and "need""

"I want to hate you. I need to tell the others about you…" she whispered breathlessly, "about what you did…but I can't. I hate this! This is wrong!"

"Unfortunately you haven't got much of a choice. So were I you, I'd learn to like it and forget being a pious little maid about it" I snapped. I rolled over so that she was pinned beneath me. I devoured her ripe mouth with my own, clinging to her softness like I would drown without-

She wouldn't forget who her Master was.

"Katarina!" I broke away, astonished to find her kissing me back-with fervour! Did she have any clue of what she was doing!? "What?" she said with a broken cry, "Am I not allowed to enjoy this then? Because I am going find something good in this if it kills me! I swear to God!" A broken laugh escaped my chest as she said this…I was speechless…should I be glad? Irritated? Angry? Should I be happy? At ease? What!?... It wasn't as if she had told me she loved me, I told myself, but then that would be truly ridiculous wouldn't it? And I didn't want her to love me…I didn't care…

"Enjoy it if you like," I whispered, "It would be easier for both of us if you did, I suppose. Yes, this is good…you don't have to kill yourself for it though…I've heard that your God doesn't take in suicides and I'd rather have you alive as well." I chuckled irreverently, low in my chest. Kati's breathing began to ease again; muscles that had been tensed during her declaration relaxed and she let herself fall back into the grass.

Curiously, I stared into her eyes. Looking for what-I didn't know. "What is it?" she murmured, noting my fixed stare. I sighed and said nothing. I rolled so that I faced the ivory scowl of the Moon. In my mind, I dared it to damn me. I laughed to myself. I was one of the damned so what difference did it make…

"This is a really odd way to torture someone…How did you kill Mara, make love to her?" I turned my head and saw a grimace etched onto her face; she regretted her words…but it wasn't a bad idea…

"We'll get to that part later-"

"Which part, the torture or the killing?" she asked nervously, folding her arms over her chest, protectively. "Tut tut, now that would be telling…" I let her hang on that.

We lay there until dawn. The sun began to creep over the horizon, edging through the trees. I let my finger trail with a feather light touch down her cheek. Her eyes were closed. She swatted away my hand. She was asleep. "Katarina." I whispered, "Kati, wake up." Her eyes opened on my command.

"Mmmm?" she looked at me blankly then up at the lightening sky. "I need to get back. We've been out here too long." She mumbled. She stood up, stumbled around and stretched, swaying on the heels of her feet slightly.

Abruptly I looked away; catching myself before I could start admiring the view. An ache surfaced. I could never have that. I was evil and that was it. I was proud, greedy, bloodthirsty, cruel, lazy, vain and I was happy with my lot. I didn't want to be human! To be a breather would be worse than entering the bowels of hell covered in boiling pitch!

She made it look so easy.

"What do you want me to do tonight?" she asked, "where should I meet you? Before you send me another note that I can't read!" she added as an afterthought.

"I'll find you." Was all I said before I left her in the clearing.

Before long, I was in my coffin wondering why I had taken her up on her offer…my mortal reflection stood in the blood mirror. "You took her up on it because you want her. Admit it!" it hissed.

"I want her." I muttered calmly, glaring at my mirror image, "But I've wanted women before…this one's no different-"

"but you've never waited beyond the first night to get her into your-" the voice was cut off as I grasped a candle stick and threw it across the room at it.

The blood mirror fractured.

A translucent hand came through the broken glass, followed by the rest of my mirror body. I leapt out of the coffin in alarm. "No!" I yelled, "No! this is my body! I claimed it! it is mine!"

"But I was born to it and I have waited for eighty-four years to get out of that mirror. I'm going to make you see through my eyes, Vlad. You will know no peace!" Its hand shot out and grasped my wrist. My skin burned. I tried to pull away. The burning intensified. I howled in agony. My flesh was on fire. Muscles were scraped from the bone as my reflection tore into my body and became one with it. With me.

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I lay on the floor. Choking. Clawing. Aching. Images flashed into my consciousness. Men streaked with blood and dirt high in the air flailing around, their mad shrieks dying away with their life blood. Screams in the night as a thatch roofed house collapsed in on itself, the fire eaten inhabitants still inside. Blood. Eyes. Screams. Tongues.

I looked upon my life with disbelief and disgust.

Her face swam into my sight. Her name was whispered with my voice. "Katarina." Her eyes were a warm honey-brown, streaked with gold. Her hair was a silken mass of red, amber and cinnamon. Her ripe lips were a deep pink colour. Her skin was smooth against my fingertips. "Katarina." I whispered. I was stupid! I was lovesick! No!

But my reflection couldn't love her unless I did. It couldn't infect me with this detestable emotion unless I felt it myself. This was impossible!

I looked on as the broken blood mirror resealed its glass and continued to reflect the room back at itself…I was a vampire…with a soul…I had no reflection.

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	2. Reflections

I spent the entire day curled up, ashamed of my behaviour the night before. But then again…maybe he would be so disgusted, he wouldn't want me…a sliver of hurt cut into my heart as I thought of this…but why!?

"Katarina!" Anna called, "come and sit with the wise women." I did as I was told, generally, there wasn't any point in disobedience. I dutifully sat next to Anna in the circle of Mages-that's what the wise women called themselves. My head was bowed.

"Anna tells us of your progressing abilities." There was something more to be said, the air was thick and heavy with it… "We wish you to stop using your powers."

"But I haven't used them in so long-" wait! Yes I had…Although Mara had been drained of blood…Vlad could have been anything, not necessarily a vampire…I had unconsciously felt his essence…and the mages knew.

My power was becoming hard to control.

Mages, according to legend had descended from witches, but they only had a limited amount of power. The legend told that the witches had destroyed themselves; they had so much power…The wise women…Anna was afraid. No-one else beyond the circle knew of my abilities-I wasn't allowed to use them without the Mages consent.

"Excuse me, I spoke in haste, I beg you, forgive me my transgression…" Anna laughed, the sound almost imitated exactly the call of a crow…A shiver crawled down my spine. "That is alright, child, the others feel the depth of anger that you feel. It pulses from you like a roaring tide. I waited silently, focusing on the patterns that my hair painted in the wind, whilst Anna cackled some more…the others joined in the laugh nervously. "You aren't like us, Katarina." Agotha whispered from across the circle. I looked up into her kindly, old eyes, creased with life and wear. Anna tossed her a sharp look, made more pointed and disturbing by the milky whiteness of her eyes. Agotha merely blinked lazily as if to say "she will know at some point, why not now?" but she remained silent. Eventually she turned her gaze back to me. "Kati…your powers are uncontrolled" uncontrolled!? "For our safety, and your own, you must stop using them." I turned to Anna…why did she have such a wide, happy grin?...I turned back, "If it is your will, I shall do my best…but I fear I shall need some time."

I couldn't trust anyone. Not the wise women or the gypsies that I had grown to love, and not the mysterious Count Dracula…who wanted to bed me then kill me.

I spent the whole day contemplating this…concentrating on not using my powers…I hadn't thought about them in so long that I had let my guard down. I watched as twilight crept into the sky, staining the light blue with a soft violet and navy concoction…. "I'm here, Kitten." Those were the words I awoke to several hours later. My heart leapt with a forbidden joy- I knew that it shouldn't have done- but I refused to deny it. "Vlad!" I whispered, "I need to tell you something" I had to tell him what I was…he needed to know what I had forgotten to tell him before…he needed to know that I was a Mage…

"Wait until we get there!" he whispered back. I looked up. His face was above me, turquoise in the moonlight. I realised that he was holding me in his arms…that we were high above the ground…I let out a wretched squeal and clung to him for dear life. I screwed my eyes shut praying for it to be over… "You can open your eyes now." He was over me. I was laying on something soft, unfamiliar. I fingered the material that I lay upon; spreading my fingers curiously. Everything was so dark that I could barely see. "Where are we?" I asked.

"We are in a bed in my castle…my back aches from last night." He said with a teasing edge leaning into his voice. "Why is it so dark?"

"Because the curtains being drawn make sure that you are warm and we have a measure of privacy." He explained…he seemed different somehow…more gentle…

"Why worry about my comfort?" I asked stupidly.

"There…I…I've had a…revelation today." He pulled away, cautious.

"I have something to tell you" I said, "You remember, when I told you about myself…oh! This is stupid!-that I told you that there was nothing else…?" he nodded sagely. "Well that's not entirely true." I put my hand to his cheek and let him see my entire life…every conversation…every discovery…everything.

"Mages!? Why does it matter?" despite the idea that I was slightly mad had obviously crossed his mind…his hard…marbley voice soothed me… "Because I don't know what they will do if they find out about us." A cold finger teased the tip of my nose.

"You speak of 'us' as if we are lovers...."  
"I don't mean it like that-"

"Well, I want you to-"

"That's impossible-you have to know that-"

"Our bargain-"

"That's not the same thing!" I hissed. His mouth grazed mine in a whisper soft caress that splintered my heart.

He guided my fingers to his temple.

A scene flashed through my mind…

"I want her." I muttered calmly, glaring at my mirror image, "But I've wanted women before…this one's no different-"

"But you've never waited beyond the first night to get her into your-" the voice was cut off as I grasped a candle stick and threw it across the room at it.

The blood mirror fractured.

A translucent hand came through the broken glass, followed by the rest of my mirror body. I leapt out of the coffin in alarm. "No!" I yelled, "No! This is my body! I claimed it! It is mine!"

"But I was born to it and I have waited for eighty-four years to get out of that mirror. I'm going to make you see through my eyes, Vlad. You will know no peace!" Its hand shot out and grasped my wrist. My skin burned. I tried to pull away. The burning intensified. I howled in agony. My flesh was on fire. Muscles were scraped from the bone as my reflection tore into my body and became one with it. With me.

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I lay on the floor. Choking. Clawing. Aching. Images flashed into my consciousness. Men streaked with blood and dirt high in the air flailing around, their mad shrieks dying away with their life blood. Screams in the night as a thatch roofed house collapsed in on itself, the fire eaten inhabitants still inside. Blood. Eyes. Screams. Tongues.

I looked upon my life with disbelief and disgust.

Her face swam into my sight. Her name was whispered with my voice. "Katarina." Her eyes were a warm honey-brown, streaked with gold. Her hair was a silken mass of red, amber and cinnamon. Her ripe lips were a deep pink colour. Her skin was smooth against my fingertips. "Katarina." I whispered. I was stupid! I was lovesick! No!

But my reflection couldn't love her unless I did. It couldn't infect me with this detestable emotion unless I felt it myself. This was impossible!

The memory faded away…

"I'm not exactly the same person that forced you into this…but I don't want to let you out…I am evil. Don't ever forget that." I didn't know what to say…

"Could you set me free-?"

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"No." I couldn't set her free. I wanted her too much. I wanted her to trust me. I wanted her to love me. It wasn't a reflection and a demon anymore. We were one and the same, we had the same desires and physical needs…I couldn't let her go.

She looked at me levelly, no hint of anger or sadness in her gaze. "I can't do that, Kati. I love you too much. Soon it'll border on obsession."

"I'll have to leave sometime-"

"I'll find you. I'll find someone who looks like you and kill them; I'll make it so that you disappear. Then I'll drag you back here and…" I kissed her, pressing myself to her, emphasising my point. Her hands lazily stroked through my hair…

Later that night, she lay beneath me, gasping for breath. "That was…I didn't know..." She mumbled something else incoherent. I pressed my lips to hers in a savage kiss. My lips travelled down the hollow of her throat, to where her easing pulse thrummed. I gently grazed my teeth over that sensitive spot…She chewed nervously on her lower lip. "What is it?" I asked, drawing patterns across her check with my fingers.

"When I leave-"

"No-"

"I don't want you to come after me." A look of pain shot over her face as she said it. She wanted me. She loved me, I was sure of it. So certain. "Why!?" my inner demon exploded from its leash, "Why do you resist me, Kitten?" I snarled into her ear. Fangs pressed into my mouth, thirsting for the taste of blood. I cut the creamy gold flesh of her throat-just an inch long. Droplets welled up into little balls before they dribbled silently down her neck…she edged away. I held her fast. I wiped a finger up a small trail of blood…I licked away that smear of red. A tiny shimmer of ecstasy ran through my black heart… "Because I don't trust you" she breathed.


	3. Turning Point

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"T-t-the b-rai-n-s were sca…ttered, scattered?" I looked up into Vlad's face, wondering whether my reading was improving at all. It had been three weeks since he had first brought me to the castle and two weeks since he had insisted that I learn how to read…

"scattered." He confirmed with a smile. I sat on Vlad's lap like a little girl, concentrating so hard on the swishes and straight lines that my head hurt. But it would be useful, I reasoned. I continued to read unsteadily. "Ac-r, across t-the floor and-d- Vlad! That's not fair! You expect me to read but I can't when you do that." He lifted his head from the sensitive hollow of my throat that he had been nuzzling. "Don't read anymore. You've done well this evening." He pressed a soft kiss on the tip of my nose, "Let me reward you, Kitten." He whispered huskily as his eyes glowed gold. The candles flickered excitedly as he bent his head…

"Katarina!" Anna was furious. Her silvery hair crackled with it. Her lips curled back in an ugly snarl, "What is this?" She held in her claw like hands a pendant that Vlad had given to me.

It was a deep emerald green crystal on a silver chain. He had given it to me that first night, "a gift to persuade" he had called it before whispering into my ear "so that you cannot leave me."

"What is it?" she screeched. Her pale eyes grew stormy, promising punishment.

"It is a pendant, Anna." I said dryly, rolling my eyes slightly.

"I know what it is you ugly little wretch! Where did you get it?" she hissed as she flung it at me.

It smashed into my cheek. It left a sharp stab of pain behind.

I bent down to pick it up. "I was given it." I whispered.

"By whom?" Anna hissed. She rushed at me, her blindness apparently no hindrance. She grabbed at my hair and pulled. Hard. "By whom?"

"Some man! I didn't see his face. I don't know his name." I lied with a snarl of my own. Anna released my hair and shoved me away, apparently satisfied. "If I ever catch you with any man, you will pay dearly. It is a good thing we leave tomorrow-"

"I'm not coming with you."

"What!?"

"I'm not coming with you. I am beautiful. I am not your slave and I will grow. I will marry. I will have beautiful children-" I infused every word with anger, with outrage. It might never happen, I told myself, but at least I am free.

Anna's eyes narrowed even further. She held her hand as if she were squeezing something…I felt my heart wrench within my chest. Anger shot through my veins. Magic spewed its way out of every pore in my body. Anna was thrown back. She got up again…her hand clawed through the air. Instinctively, my hand waved in front of me in a circular motion; a shield, a very powerful one. Lines were scored into Anna's face. Blood welled thickly…

"You're a witch!" she spat, "not a mage!" a sliver of angry realisation shot through me. "I am aren't I?" I rushed toward her. Her eyes widened in fear. She began to hobble away… "Petrificus!" I screamed. The little old woman fell flat into the grass. Her wizened face was an ugly mask of terror and outrage.

I pressed my fingers to her temple...

"Not my children please no-" the woman named Jucika breathed as I crushed the life out of her. Black magic flowed maniacally through my veins, winding round in hot coils behind my eyes, madly pumping my old heart with black ecstasy.

The family lay in a dead heap on the dirt floor. The sky outside was black; littered with winking stars guarded over by a waxy full moon. A man. A woman. Two children. The girl stood screaming in the corner of the shack. A shiver hissed through my bones. A smile pulled at the corners of my mouth. This little girl had power- power that could belong to me, given patience. She was the first Witch to be born in five hundred years…images ran riot through my head…Young again! Queen of all the land! Immortality! The possibilities were endless…

"Burn the bodies." I muttered coolly to my accomplices. I turned to the little girl…

"Silence child." The little girl promptly stopped screaming. "Come with us. We will take care of you. " I croaked at the girl. Her eyes glazed over…such power would be mine. I inwardly grinned in anticipation of the amazing possibilities. These gnarled old hands would be soft and smooth again… so long as she stayed an innocent.

I stepped out of her memory.

"I'm staying here." I said coldly, glaring into Anna's face. I turned and picked up the deep, emerald green pendant that Vlad had given me. I pressed it to my heart.

I was staying. If Vlad tired of me then I would leave…but I would not look into Anna's face with devotion any longer…I was my own woman.


	4. Victor

The bloody red sun pushed slowly into the horizon line, casting a pink glow across the sky. The breeze blew softly against my face. The green pendant was nestled between my breasts…right over my beating, bleeding heart. A dull, wrenching sensation spun through my gut…was I doing the right thing? What would I do? What would Vlad say?...Images of rejection slammed through my head…a salty swell of tears spilled over the already sore rims of my eyes.

"Kitten?" his soft, almost metallic voice startled me out of my self pity. I had been sat on a thick tree root with my knees at my chin, but his presence immediately made my legs straighten. I hastily stood up… "I've asked you not to call me that. Repeatedly." I mumbled, not quite meeting his icy blue gaze. He stood in the shadows, waiting for the dappled, pink light to disappear completely over the horizon line. "That's beside the point, Kati. What makes you so sour this evening-"

"I'm not sour." I interjected…sourly. A darkly aristocratic brow quirked with amusement mixed with slight concern.

*********************************************************************

Of course she wasn't sour. She was too depressed. But about what? I wondered as the sunlight streamed backwards towards the horizon.

It was too early in the evening…A part of me didn't care at all for her worries; I lusted after her constantly and that part of me wouldn't let her out of the bed if the matter was left up to it…but she was subdued…

"I have made…some decisions." She said warily, "that might…concern you." She peeked at me from beneath her lashes. If she hadn't been downright scared it would have been highly provocative…exciting. Her breathing was forced. Deep. Wavering. Her heart thrummed urgently in her chest…I so wanted that to be for me…

The sun finally slipped over the horizon…

I flitted at her before she could turn away. I forced her lips to mine but not a second later, they ripely softened against mine. Her body moulded to mine like a hand in a glove. My right hand fisted in the coppery-brown silk of her hair. My left hand went to the lush curve of her hip and pulled her against me…her hands went to my back and clung on passionately, naively hoping that I would stop her falling. Such innocent hope!…I was Hades _dragging_ my Persephone into the underworld.

It was only when she was pinned between a nearby tree and my body that we released each other. "The others are leaving tomorrow," she breathed, "I am staying, Vlad." She looked up at me warily; unsure of my reaction. A slow, blissful smile crept across my face. Elation ripped through my heart. She was mine. Entirely mine. "Katarina." I whispered. I was speechless. I wanted to clasp her to my black heart and keep her there. And I could, I told myself, she was willing…

Later that night, she lay in my cold arms, breathing softly. Her eyes were closed. Her even breaths splashed heat across the frozen white skin of my chest.

I loved her so much…it was beyond reason.

"Vlad?" She looked up at me drowsily, "you seem…disturbed." She finished lamely. I let my fingers lazily sift through her long hair as I looked into the silvery moonlight that spilled through the east facing window. "It's nothing." I murmured blandly, "I just-"

At that moment the wooden portal almost shattered with the force used to smash it open. Ivan stood stupidly in the doorway, his mouth agape and his eyes wide. "Brother, why isn't it dead yet?" as his said this, a glint of red thirst appeared in his eyes. "I could kill it for you if you wanted-" Beside me, Katarina's breathing rate quickened to an almost musical tempo as she shrank back into the covers fearfully. "Don't you dare." I hissed menacingly.

"Nanny Klontarve always said that in order to survive, sometimes we must share-"

I flitted protectively over Kati and bared my fangs at my ignorant little brother. "If you lay a finger on her, I will disembowel you and have you face death by dawn, brother or not! This one is _not_ for sharing in _any_ manner." But his eyes continued to rake over her with undisguised greed. He slowly began to pace forward, ignoring my warnings.

He took not one step.

I grabbed at his throat and effortlessly hurled him out of the window. "Don't come back until you can obey my commands, _Little_ Brother." I snarled into the air. A small bat came up to meet my fury with its own. An angry screech was all that emanated from its mouth before it flew off into the west.

I turned back to Kati. She still lay, paralysed by fear, in the bed. Aside from her face, no inch of creamy-gold flesh could be seen. A hiss of disgruntlement coloured the atmosphere in the chamber before I crawled into the bed and drew her back into the moonlight…

*********************************************************************

It had been almost two months since the other Gypsies left.

I sat on the flagstone floor by the fire with a book in my lap. "Thou shalt not destroy another Vampire. Thou shalt deceive and cheat his fellows as much as possible-" I murmured to myself, not entirely able to read in my head. I was perplexed. "Thou shalt deceive and cheat his fellows?" that wasn't right…

"The Vampire code of conduct." A husky, male voice whispered into my ear. I slammed the tome shut in surprise. "Our version of your bible."

"It's blasphemy!" I hissed as Vlad melted out of the shadows behind me. He wrapped his arms about my waist and caressed my throat with his lips before he said, "We Vampires are a blasphemous people. We are evil. We are greedy…We are lustful."

"Well then I shall pray for your soul." I muttered, "I refuse to enter heaven alone."

But I wasn't entirely alone, I reminded myself. I had Vlad and…I was with child. I hadn't had the courage to tell Vlad that I was pregnant…I wasn't altogether sure that I wanted to. I didn't want my child to be evil, selfish and cruel. And Lords didn't accept the bastard offspring of gypsy girls even if they were theirs…But it would be evil, selfish and cruel to not tell Vlad…he would find out anyway…

"Vlad…I think I have something to tell you" he flitted around and kneeled before me and met my gaze with his. "Yes?"

"My-my…"this was embarrassing, "my monthly courses are late. I can't remember when they last came around." Vlad's brow puckered slightly, he looked entirely confused. I stifled a small giggle; obviously no-one had thought to explain what monthly courses mean. I doubted that he would ever admit to such though… "I think…I am…pregnant." Vlad's brow smoothed over. His arms shot out and pulled me to him. His lips found mine…life was sweet. "My son!" he whispered with something skin to reverence in his voice. He placed a smooth hand over my stomach, feeling for any movement to suggest a baby's presence… "What shall we call him, Vlad?" I was sure that it was a boy. I knew it with every fibre of my being…

"Victor. We shall call our son Victor." He whispered in wonder.


	5. WhoreWitch

I was in my sixth month of pregnancy and my stomach was round and distended. My clothes were constantly damp with my milk and my back ached. "And so Zeus ruled that for every pomegranate seed that Persephone ate, she should remain with Hades one month-" I read, running a hand over the space where my baby Victor dwelled…

I felt a sharp nudge from my womb. And another one… I ran a hand softly over the immense mound of flesh in curiosity.

"What is it?" Vlad asked tersely as he stood in the doorway, his brows furrowed in concern. "I just felt the baby move." I whispered with a small smile.

"Is that normal?" he asked, immediately flitting over to me. He knelt down and pressed his ear to my stomach. Several more kicks emanated from deep inside me. "I think so. Vlad, what are you worried about?"

I possibly should have been asking myself the same question, I couldn't quite quell the feeling that Anna wasn't finished with me yet.

"A vampire-breather hybrid hasn't been heard of, let alone a Vampire-witch hybrid…we don't know what to expect." Suddenly I found myself stripped of my clothes. Vlad's cool, smooth hand caressed my distended stomach and he kissed it tenderly. He pressed his ear to it again and closed his eyes. "Vlad?"

"Yes, Kitten?"

"Who is going to be midwife?" the thought had just stuttered through my mind and I couldn't find the answer…Vlad looked up with an expression that was a mix of bewilderment and guilt. His lips pressed together in thought… "I hadn't thought about it to tell you the truth…this is usually a woman's area of expertise so…" typical. Leave the woman to do everything, why don't you? Despite that thought a small smile tugged at my lips. He smiled back and put his ear back to my swollen stomach. Another kick. He chuckled slightly. "That's my boy." He whispered.

"I have to leave for a few nights. Business." I nodded and smiled in understanding, but something in my heart twisted…I was as fat as a sow. I had no real beauty to speak of…I wondered foolishly whether he was going to another lover. The idea stung and I tried to ignore it.

But it was always there, though I never spoke of it.

*********************************************************************

Business. Ha! I wanted it to be a surprise. I was going to appeal to the council and the Grand High Vampire to let me marry Katarina. There was no legal obstacle. She was a witch, not a breather. I loved her insanely and she was going to bear my son and heir into the world.

I kept my ear pressed to her naked flesh to feel every kick of my unborn son. I looked to the years ahead. I was going to spoil my son and heir rotten. He would have the best education available, he was going to get the best of everything…my Kitten and I would be together for the rest of eternity, I'd bite her if necessary.

If anything ever happened…A shudder ran down my spine at the mere thought.

*********************************************************************

It had been three days since Vlad had left. I prayed to God that he would come back soon. I stared up at the grey, stone ceiling of our chamber, wondering when he would return. Apprehension also twisted in my gut…what if he returned with another woman!? I knew that few men remained faithful to their wives, especially heartless men. But I wasn't even his wife. He had no reason to allow me to stay with him…he could easily cast me out when the idea caught his fancy…I clutched almost hopelessly at the green pendant over my heart.

"Be quiet or I'll slit your throat!" a harsh voice croaked outside the door…I knew that voice…An old woman burst through the door flanked by two young men from the Gypsy troupe.

"Hello Katarina. I've heard you've been busy in my absence…breeding an abomination!" before I could angrily scream that my child was anything but an abomination the two mean grasped my arms and shoved a gag in my mouth and slammed a bag over my head…the only sound that could be heard was Anna's cackle as my arms were tied behind my back.

*********************************************************************

Yes! They said yes! Ecstasy poured through every vein in my body. As a bat I soared over the mountains and the treetops in splendid triumph. They said yes!

I couldn't wait to see her. To tell her. To kiss her. To…sexual desire rampaged through my body. I loved her! And she loved me!

I shifted my shape in mid-air. My booted toes touched lightly upon the battlements. I flitted down to the chamber…she wasn't there. I flitted across to the library…she wasn't there. I flitted across the entire castle searching for her…she wasn't there!

"My Lord? She was taken not two hours ago by an old woman and two men-"

"How the fuck did they get in?" I snarled, "Why the fuck did you let them take her?" My soul was screaming in agony, it was entirely aware that Katarina's death might effectively destroy it. I howled in rage and wrath. I grasped the servant's neck and hurled him across at the wall. "Where did they take her?"

*********************************************************************

My wrists were burning. I was tied to five stakes in the shape of a pentagram. The knots and lashings were so tight on my wrists and ankles. I pulled at the ropes urgently, desperately hoping to free myself.

Floating in despair, I finally flumped against the ground. I was so weak. Even magic was beyond my reach at that moment.

"Our father," I prayed, "who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen." But prayer was useless. I had consorted with the Devil and I'd do it again…because I loved him.

"It'll do you no good to pray." Anna hissed, "You are a whore from the bowels of hell. I am going to destroy that demon-thing that you have bred"- she took out a knife from her sleeve. It was a wicked sharp blade with a jagged point at the end. Sarika appeared at her side. Her lower lip trembled as Anna put the blade in her hand.

Chanting began. Figures and faces came together out of the shadows around me…

*********************************************************************

"Not my child! Please, God! Don't do this!"

That blood curdling shriek pulsed through the air. I flitted through the trees, desperately following the agonised scream. I came out at the clearing where the Gypsies had camped before…

A man was hammering something into the ground. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. A faint squelch issued from the tiny object that he was staking into the ground.

"Vlad! No! Get away!" the scratchy voice wept. I turned to face the source of the voice…Katarina filled my vision. Tied to a stake in the middle of a massive pyramid of sticks and trees, she wept bitterly. Blood and tears streaked across her face…

Her belly was empty.

"No!" I roared. I made to flit over to Kati but something held me down-held me fast. "Dracula. Vampire. Your kind will someday wither and disappear- and I pray it will be soon- but for now you will simply watch as we burn your whore and your demon offspring." A wizened face appeared in front of me. Her eyes were milky white and her hair was a frizzy grey halo about her head…Old Anna.

*********************************************************************

My eyes met his as Anna laughed maniacally. With my gaze, I implored him to leave. His icy blue eyes burned with an angry fire. Why wouldn't he leave? I chewed my lip bitterly as I watched a shadowy figure put a torch to my pyre. The branches and leaves suddenly burst into flame. "Go, Vlad!" I screamed.

Ruby and gold flames licked greedily at my frozen feet. My belly ached with the frigid emptiness. Victor was gone…My son! My skin began to blister. I bit back a lamenting cry of pain. I whimpered pitifully. Through the hazy smoke, I saw Vlad's eyes widen. The flames around me jumped up. The wool of my tunic was burnt away. Every hair of my body burst into flame…

Victor. Vlad. My loves. Oh God! Pain! Agony. Anna! Jingling bells. Stark silver moonlight. My first kiss. Our first night…

*********************************************************************

The pyre fell apart. Katarina's body fell into the flames after one last ear-splitting wail. My love…gone. Fury pummelled through my body. Fangs exploded into my mouth. No magic could hold me now. They would all pay. Every last one of them. Every last mage would lay dead at my feet! For her!

I screamed my rage at the sky.

I clawed through the binds that held me. I dissipated into mist. The winding tendrils of mist travelled through the clearing…found every person…They would all pay! None of them would survive! Fuck God! Fuck the heavens! Fuck the whole pantheon of demons! They took her from me…and my son…my precious son! I reached tendrils of white down their throats-into their lungs-their stomachs, intestines-everywhere! I wrenched hard at them. Blood spewed over the clearing, drenching the flames of the pyre in red.

Anna stood before my awesome wrath. The blind old woman shivered with very real fear. I saved her for last. I grabbed her grizzled mane of hair and threw her into the fire…

I knelt down and wept…It wasn't enough! They would all die-every last one of them-they would all die! The world would know the name Dracula! They would cringe at the very mention of my name!

For Her. My Love. Katarina.


	6. Epilogue: Unremember

"Magda Westenra?" I jolted in surprise.

"Who's there?" I demanded furiously, Mother did tell me that I had visitors. A girl filtered out of the shadows. Her voluptuous figure literally glided_ through_ a solid mahogany table. Her long, hip length hair was a chestnut colour with a few streaks of bronze. She definitely wasn't what I would call beautiful. Certainly not. "My name is not important." The girl said smoothly, "suffice it to say that I have an interest in one of your potential suitors. What I wish you to do for me will benefit you greatly. You have set your heart on Count Dracula." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. What interest did _this little_ slip of a girl- _a dead girl_- have of _my_ potential suitor? "I haven't got a heart." I spat indignantly. My affairs weren't any of _her_ business.

"That is not the point, Magda." The girl muttered dryly, "the point is that you haven't found a way to attain him."

"And? What is your interest in this?"

"I captured his heart. I have it still in my keeping. I am giving it back to him."

"What on _Earth_ are you talking about, speak plainly!"

"He is half mad." This was true. It was said that he spent most of his time moping after some girl that he lost a few years ago. I heard tales of his bloody exploits. _Very_ bloody exploits. He was handsome enough and he had plenty of money and _a lot_ of power. That was what I wanted- Then there was Chandu of course- "Magda, if my plan succeeds, he will forget about the gypsy witch that would have borne his child." Her voice was almost a sob. "You can take your chances with him then. He will be entirely evil and entirely cruel… And all yours…Do you want him or not?"

"Why would you want him to forget?" I was entirely perplexed; anyone who held another in thrall would want them to remember…it could give enthralled person joy or make them suffer…

"Because he has hundreds of years ahead of him. And I want him to lead his…unlife. I have waited three hundred years for him to move on. It is high time he did."

"What do I need to do?" Greed was thick in my voice, even I could hear it.

"I need you to find a way to burn all his journals, every piece of evidence that I existed must be destroyed. There is a green pendant that he keeps upon his person at all times. That must be taken…I have already arranged the rest…" I didn't know what 'the rest' entailed and I didn't care. Riches, power and status were within my grasp…

I made sure that all evidence that the girl existed was wiped away…Count Dracula was all mine!

In the seventh month of the year 1700 I met him. "Vlad!-" I exclaimed.

"Please don't call me that-"

"But why? It is your name-is it not?"

"It is but…I vaguely have memories of someone who used to call me that…I don't' remember who but…It's uncomfortable." He explained lamely.

"Oh, Bun buns!" it needed work. I admit. But he was mine!


End file.
